Employee of the Month with Catie Lazarus

We spend most of our time working, so what does it take to (mainly) love what you do? How do even the most gifted, talented, intelligent, ambitious, disciplined, imaginative, inventive, lucky, and plucky develop their point of view, find meaning, serve a greater good, deal with work place politics, rejection, finances, boredom, red tape, logistics, and creative roadblocks? What are the perks or enjoyable about forging your own path? Catie Lazarus and her guests delve into beauty, banality and absurdity of work, jobs, and labor.

We spend most of our time working, so what does it take to (mainly) love what you do? How do even the most gifted, talented, intelligent, ambitious, disciplined, imaginative, inventive, lucky, and plucky develop their point of view, find meaning, serve a greater good, deal with work place politics, rejection, finances, boredom, red tape, logistics, and creative roadblocks? What are the perks or enjoyable about forging your own path? Catie Lazarus and her guests delve into beauty, banality and absurdity of work, jobs, and labor.

We spend most of our time working, so what does it take to (mainly) love what you do? How do even the most gifted, talented, intelligent, ambitious, disciplined, imaginative, inventive, lucky, and plucky develop their point of view, find meaning, serve a greater good, deal with work place politics, rejection, finances, boredom, red tape, logistics, and creative roadblocks? What are the perks or enjoyable about forging your own path? Catie Lazarus and her guests delve into beauty, banality and absurdity of work, jobs, and labor.

Episodes

Catie Lazarus talks with Emmy Award winner Chris Jackson, best known for originating the role of George Washington in Hamilton. He was also a lead in In The Heights and composed music for Sesame Street penning the music for a Will.I.Am hit “What I Am,” which is addictive, no matter how old you are.
Plus, Catie sits down in the studio with CUNY Professor and Poet Celina Su to discuss how to avoid burnout as a political activist, refugees, and prose.
This episode is brought to you by the...

Catie Lazarus talks with comedian Fred Armisen who did prank videos before Youtube, which launched his career, beginning with Saturday Night Live and later on IFC’s Portlandia and Documentary Now!. His latest series is Amazon Prime’s Forever, in which he co-stars with Employee of the Month alumna Maya Rudolph. Then Catie chats with comedian and author of American Tantrum Anthony Atamanuik on what it takes to have compassion for Donald Trump.
This episode is brought to you by the following...

Once a muse for Calvin Klein, actor Martha Plimpton had ample training before becoming a role model to destigmatizes abortion. Today, Plimpton, who continues to be a prolific actor on and off Broadway, as well as in hit TV shows like The Black List, Younger, and Raising Hope, works with A Is For. A breadwinner from a young age, Plimpton talks to Catie Lazarus about how she coped with burnout. Then Lazarus speaks with National Book Award-winner and New Yorker columnist Masha Gessen about...

Between ensuring Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen's global tours are as magnetic off-Broadway as they are on it, to scoring feature films, musical maestro Alex Lacamoire’s schedule is relentless. The 43-year-old Cuban-American hasn't stopped making music since he began dazzling audiences at piano recitals at age four. But much like Alexander Hamilton, Lacamoire struggled. The prolific polymath reveals to Catie Lazarus how he grapples with his own hearing impairment to the harsh reality of...

REBECCA TRAISTER reveals the price of elitism within journalism and publishing, and how it decides who and what gets published. Today, most journalists, writer and reporters earn less than minimum wage which determines who can afford to do this critical job. Now, she is one of New York Magazine's star columnists and talking head on Real Time with Bill Maher, but she got her start as a reporter. Her experience shows. Her self-awareness and research contextualizes the nuances of sexism,...

Sexual assault, sexism and harassment in the work place is getting its due in the news, but in ACTUALLY, currently on Broadway at the Manhattan Theater Club, playwright Anna Ziegler examines whether colleges are any more objective than our criminal system. It is nearly impossible for women of all races seeking justice for rape and sexual harassment in our criminal system. Men of color are also considered "guilty until proven innocent." What happens when these two issues collide? And on a...

After getting her start as a PA for Woody Allen, director and writer Nicole Holofcener gave stars like Jennifer Aniston in FRIENDS WITH MONEY, Julia Louis Dreyfus in ENOUGH SAID, Jake Gyllenhaal and Catherine Keener in LOVELY & AMAZING their meatiest, roles. With her new Netflix film THE LAND of STEADY HABITS, starring Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, Elizabeth Marvel, and Thomas Mann, Holofcener will focus for first time from the perspective of a male protagonist. On this episode off Employee of...

EMPLOYEE of the MONTH is a talk (and awards) show about what it truly means to have a dreamy job. CATIE LAZARUS, who created and hosts Employee of the Month, only selects good eggs for the prestigious EMPLOYEE of the MONTH award, so no wonder she picked Steven Wright. He is utterly hilarious, thoroughly original, and hope you will enjoy our interview. You're welcome. PS Please excuse the AMAZING sound quality. Can't do anything about my voice, but you can donate if you want to help us...

There are actors who anoint themselves activists, without considering that most activists don't suddenly claim they are actors, simply because they bought movie tickets. That said, there are consummate professionals, like Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner CYNTHIA NIXON, who will consciously support causes. Nixon has her plate full with upcoming films, like LIFE ITSELF, JAMES WHITE, and STOKHOLM, PENNSYLVNIA; directing a one woman show, and prepping to play Emily Dickinson, among other gigs,...

Peeno Noir is Expanding! Actor Tituss Burgess’s real wine company Pinot Noir, inspired by his Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s character viral music video, will unveil a new wine for Pride Week and a rosé. Whether your celebrating the LGBTQ or can’t get enough of the nimble actor and deliriously delightful singer, you’ll feel better about splurging on Pinot Noir after seeing how Burgess does in a blind taste test. Catie Lazarus, host of Employee of the Month, wanted to see if the 37 years old,...

I selfishly don't want Zadie Smith to quit her day job, but the famed novelist could easily moonlight as a singer. The author of the critically acclaimed, best-selling novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, and, most recently, Swing Time shared her insight on plagiarism, plots, outlines, and publishing. A regular contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books, she has written about everything from Brexit to Key & Peele to her late father. She once flirted with...

This October marks Al Jaffee reign as Mad Magazine’s longest running contributor, clocking in 59 years and over 479 issues. Since 1952, the comic book turned magazine infused a childish silliness with biting political depth and orignal artwork. By engaging readers to add their own “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” and even mangling the magazine to solve the “Fold-In” picture riddle, Mad was one of the first enterprises to treat consumers as co-conspirators. The result was an entirely new...

DAVEED DIGGS, a rapper, actor, and now Broadway star in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, stopped by Employee of the Month at Joe's Pub to reveal why Diggs hated working at Pier 1. You'll get to hear him freestyle rapwith Jelly D. and Shockwave, who are both the MC's for Employee of the Month Show's house band, and bandmates of Daveed's in Freestyle Love Supreme. In this episode, which was taped live, you will also here Jelly D. and Daveed rap and Shockwave beatbox the Employee of the Month rap...

An Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Pulitzer and Employee of the Month winning composer, actor, writer, and hip-hop super star performer, Lin-Manuel Miranda can currently be seen performing in Marry Poppins. He spoke with Catie Lazarus about creating political commercials for Hillary Clinton to Elliot Spitzer, collaborating with Stephen Sondheim on West Side Story, and playing bar-mitzvahs before In the Heights and Hamilton made him a global sensation. Hamilton Mix tapes premiered off-off-Broadway at The...

If you looked up the phrase "comic's comic," Wayne Federman's name should appear. For decades after the late great Gary Shandling cast Wayne as his brother in Larry Sanders Show, Shandling remained close friends with Wayne. While Federman is presently touring with Judd Apatow and has done so with Jimmy Fallon, and writes for both comics as well, he has started to compose theme music. After appearing in and on over fifty hit movies and television shows, including Legally Blonde, Knocked Up,...

"Bobcat Goldthwait came to the show with the same fear I did," On this episode of Employee of the Month, comedian Kevin McDonald shares what it is like to be judged both about how you write about your life and lived it. We spoke about his one man show as well as the love of being part of a group and loneliness of no longer being one of the cool kids. In their twenties, Kevin McDonalds and Dave Foley, darlings of the sketch comedy world, described themselves as "punk rock," as Kids in the...

Best known for HBO's iconic Sex-And-The-City, CBS's Two Broke Girls and HBO's The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow Michael Patrick King talks about being Catholic to how Hollywood's corporate maze is more like feudal system, and his new show with cabaret star and Employee of the Month alumni Bridget Everett, of Inside Amy Schumer fame. If you have ever wanted to work in Hollywood, listen to Michael Patrick King as he reveals the discipline, passion, and politics of the entertainment industry. This...

Seth Herzog became nationally known for his wry one liners on Vh1's Best Week Ever. He spoke to Catie Lazarus about what he discovered at camp Stagedoor Manor to Zog's Place to acting in New York City with Ethan Hawke, Live Schrieber, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. Herzog's early jobs, including painting, performing as Wonder Woman, and his initial hesitation about being a warm-up comic for Jimmy Fallon, who he frequently tours with and often appears alongside of and...

The word multi-tasked doesn't begin to describe Shonali Bhowmik, who somehow juggles, law, music, and comedy. It would've been harder to grow up tone deaf in Nashville than Indian-American, and Shonali describes how progressive her immigrant parents were when raising Shonali and her sister Ruchi, who went on to serve as former Deputy Assistant to President Barack Obama. Shonali was no slouch either. She juggled law school while touring with her band ULTRABABYFAT. After opening for comedian...